Oechabd heateb



June 19,-1923. 1,459,076

w. c. scHEU ORGHARD HEATER Filed June 16E, 1920 F; f1. Fi ,5.

lnverVOv': William C. Scheu.

' claimed therein; y y l Where the maximum heat is required and Patented June 19, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORCHARD HEATER.

Application filed .Tune 10, 1920. Serial No. 387,890.

T 0 all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. SoHnU, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, haveinvented a new and useful Orchard Heater, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelatcs to an orchard heater for preventing frost danger in orchards, and the main object of the invention is to provide a method and device for this purpose which will effect substantially complete consumption ofthefuel, and maximum development of-heat.

In the construction and operation of orchard heaters it is a'desideratum that means be provided for certainly and surely maintaining a lire in each heater in an orchard during the period of low lor lowering tem# peratures when heaters are required to pro tect and save the 'blossoms and fruitl from frost damage.` I

At times temperatures. fall so low that it becomes necessary to operate the heaters at their maximum capacity of heat production, t0 keep the temperature surrounding the trees, high enoughto protect them from damage.

It is also desirable to use heaters that do not produce a perceptible smoke, in other words the fuel shouldpractically all be consumed, and in order to accomplish this result a very hot and vigorous fire is necessary.

The air supply to these heaters to produce and maintain the type of combustion necessary to carry a practically smokeless ire is admitted to theoil receptacle through an opening in the cover, usually'at one side of the central stack, and the amount required for the grade of fuel being consumed is controlled and regulated by means of movable slides or covers such as are shown herein and in my Patents 1,089,013 and 1,148,803; the present invention being an improvement on theorchard heaters shown, described and the fuel has burned low in the receptacle and an increasing amountof air becomes necessary to maintain'a large gas generating body of fire in the gradually enlarging generating space caused by the falling level of the oil .in the receptacle, the strong draftv fromV the stack sometimes lifts the fire ofi' the surface of the -oil and 'immediately checks air is maintained, when it will either go out or fire back to the surface of the oil and ignite the vapors coming from the hot oil, where it will burn for a short time and {inally again pull up into the stack and finally go out completely. This is particularly true in an orchard heater such as that shown in my Patent 1,089,013.

An object of this invention is to eliminate this trouble by incorporating in the air inlet opening an obstruction or deflector, so that the incoming air is retarded orobstructed, just sufiicientlyl from a straight path to the stack, to permit a combustive mixture to take place right at theair opening. This results in a body of fire hovering directly in the air inlet opening and acting to always maintain a proper fire in the re-V ceptacle as long as any fuel remains.

This obstruction or deflector is just sulficient to prevent the fire pulling away from the air opening under the conditions I have` described, so that an intense fire can be maintained until the last of the fuel is consumed.

Under many conditions of operation, and with certain grades of oil, a deflector or obstruction in the airl inlet opening is unnecessary and a heaterjsuch as is shown in my Patent-1,089,013 burns vigorously and gives entirely satisfactory results without the use of a deiiector. Butv since these heaters are gradually reaching the remote orchards that are not always located where a uniform grade of fuel oil is obtainable andvarying grades of oil must be burned, then is where this invention enables the simple heater and the remote orchardist to get improved results, and as it is not possible to foresee the grades of fuel that may have to be burned in any lot of heaters, I have found it advisable to equip all heaters with this devicef.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of my invention, and referring thereto:

L Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the heater;'

gli

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of an airfdelector used in @the heater;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of said defleCtOr taken at right angles .tOFig .3; i

Fig. 5 is a planview of said deilector.

The heater comprises a pot or bowl -1 serving as a receptacle for the fuel to be burned,

a cover or top 2 for such -lpot and a stack .3 centrally mounted on said cover and communicating ,Withthe interior yof the pot by an openingsl iin-.said cover.` `The .cover `2 is` provided withan air inletorlopening 5 atv one side ofthe central .opening 4 land havingl a .closure `means -6 pivioted fto .the cover at 7 A delectcr 13 extends .adjacent to open-I ing 5., being preferablyqformed as acasting having 'vertically extending ribs 14 andxlA extending downwardly from said opening soas to deflect', obstruct Sand retard 'the lpassagecf the air and-'flamevfrcm a direct line to the stack and thus prevent the draft from the stack' pulling the-fire `ofi? the surface of the oil :andfaway from the air opening, which hasa'tendency to smother the reby interq fering with the generation of sufficient gas to 'maintain the quanti-ty and intensitylof fire necessary tokeep up proper functioning ofthe heater, the tendency ofthe deflector being to concentrate an intense and vigorous ireat andaround theair opening, the rib 14, or deflector member, extending Vtransversely tc a radial direction, and the'ribs 15` extending divergently from the middle portion ofiri'b' 14. Lugs .or flanges 17 and `lare provided at the'tops of ribs 14 and lto rest on a flange 19'extending aroundthe opening vso as to support the deflector; The shape orf-this deectcr is important construction `shown in with; I'have found no obstruction of any kind .extending from this'free opening to the 'surface (of the oil or `outward from `the opening.I

thestructure disclosed, where by making ia deflector-of irregular Ior un ulating contour] .the entering air is just siliciently re` tarded toprevent the ,draft pulling the fire up the stack, still it has free passage'to mix with the gases in the receptacle at the .open-4 i ing, and thnsl practically eliminate the/de- Vit desirable that a part at least of the air inlet opening should ,havev ing a completely combustible mixture, said air inlet opening being controlled by a valve ^or closure means 28.

Inlet means are also provided at the lower end of stack 3 to furnish the additional :air

required for combustion, said inlet means preferably comprising a .plurality of `.rings or annular members 21 securedtcgether by bolts 22, fthe lower rin-g resting on rflange 23 extending yaroundnthe `opening 4in the cover, said rings 21 being spaced apart by spacing'v Washers vor members y25 so 'as vto form air vinlet slots'26 between said rings.. Said spacing Washers 2.5 are secured iin'posi tion preferably by the same belts =22l that hold.- the rings 21 in pcsiticn, said' r.bolts passingfthrough said washers and `through flanges 24 on said rings and being fastened bynutsO.. n i f, i

The operation is as ifollows: A .suitable amount .of fuel being placed in the pot 1, the coverf21is' appliedv to thepot land mixed with additional air furnished through i the opening 20, the amount of such addi# tional airv beingccntrolled by means of the.

valve ory closure means 28. f -Thisradditicnal air mixing with the vapor produted by par;`

tialcombustion adjacent the air inlet forms a mixturewhleh burns vinthe stack by com-r bustion with theair furnished thnough theair inlet slots 26. y

. In the above described operation the'function of the delectormeans 13 is to conne thev primary combustion' adjaeentto` thev air inletopening sojas to" produce a flame of limited extent sufficiently strong to gener-f ate i the requisite amount of combustible-iva-v por by the resulting heating action on the" fuel, the lribs 14T and lfdirecting the incomyThis result I haveaccomplished through ing air directly down on the-fuel sobas td.

a @over mounted thereon andy having an out@ let stack and an' Lair'inlet opening, a delec.

tol" member, at said opening 'andfhalving-ribef 12.0A

extending downwardly into the fuel receptacle, said ribs extending divergently so as to form vertical channels for receiving the air entering at said inlet opening, and acting as an obstruction to maintain a flame at the air inlet opening and prevent the draft from pulling it directly to the stack.

2. A construction, as set forth in claim 1, and comprising, in addition, damper means at said inlet opening to control the supply of air thereto, and said cover having additional regulable air supply means therein.

3. An orchard heater comprising a fuel' obstructive member arranged at the said air inlet opening having an irregular undulating surface to divert and obstruct all of the air entering said air inlet opening from taking a direct path to said outlet stack whereby a fire is maintained at said air inlet opening.

4:. A baille for a heater embodying a body vportion having a plurality of vertically extending ribs providing channels therebetween, and, having a horizontally disposed supporting flange.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto Subscribed my name this 2nd day of June, 1920.

WILLIAM C. SCHEU. 

